PS 7 - full icon tutorial

I made this icon for shagalote during an icon meme. I'm bored right now so I thought I'd kill time with a tutorial.




The original photograph is by Horst P. Horst, an amazing fine art photographer. Kudos!

x]  Using Adobe Photoshop 7, I set my selection tool to a Fixed Aspect Ratio of 1 x 1 and select the area of the image I want to use for my icon. (Note: The cropping in this image is not exactly the same as in the icon. I had to go back and recreate this part for the tutorial.)



x]  When I'm satisfied with my selection, I go to Image/Crop, this will cut the image down to just the selection area. (For more info on using this and other cropping methods, please see the wonderful tutorial by dtissagirl)



x]  Then I go to Image/Image Size to make the pic icon-sized. Making sure Constrain Proportions is checked, I change the height and width to 100 x 100 pixels.



Now that I have my base, it's time to make it look pretty.

1.
Filter/Sharpen

2.
New Layer Fill #061745
Exclusion
Opacity 100%

3.  
Texture by inxsomniax
Hue
Opacity 100%

4.  
Texture by inxsomniax
Soft Light
Opacity 100%

5.  
Brush by isabellecs in #B8B2A1
Screen
Opacity 100%

6.  
Duplicate sharpened base
Soft Light
Opacity 100%

7.  
Brush by isabellecs in #8F8A74
Overlay
Opacity 100%

8.
JohannSparklingITC @ 24 pt Smooth in #21201A
Normal
Opacity 100%

9.  
Brush by isabellecs in #48371A
Normal
Opacity 100%

Edit: cynicalskeptic suggested I post an image showing the order of the layers to save on any confusion. I've numbered each layer to its coinciding step in the tutorial.




Ta-da!